Kansas church welcomes families drawn by promise of free land

A UMNS photo by John Gordon Courtney Heitter moved to Marquette, from California, and works at the Valley Caf�.

April 19, 2005 

By John Gordon*

MARQUETTE, Kan. (UMNS)—There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but something much more valuable—free land—is drawing a new wave of settlers to the Kansas farm belt.

And the idea may just lay the groundwork for rejuvenating small-town life in the sparsely populated region.

“(Marquette is) a town that wanted to stay alive,” says Mayor Steve Piper. “A lot of small towns are dying, quite frankly, in the Midwest.”

Marquette is one of eight small towns listed at www.KansasFreeLand.com and offering free lots and other incentives to attract residents.

As owner of Marquette’s local grocery store, Piper often interrupts his duties at the meat counter to take applications for the free-land program. Or he might be rounding up neighbors to help unload the truck of a family arriving in town.

The stakes are high. After all, Piper is counting on the bargain-priced acreage to save his town.

Piper’s church, First United Methodist, is surrounded by some of the lots offered to families promising to build a home within a year. The Rev. Larry Brock, the church’s pastor, has even been known to give away a refrigerator and furniture to some of them.

A UMNS photo by John Gordon New homes are being built on land donated by the town of Marquette, Kan.

“I don’t know if I would describe it as ‘Mayberry, R.F.D.’ but it’s awfully close,” Brock says, referring to the fictitious TV town.

Marquette has struggled since a powerful tornado killed 31 people and flattened much of the town a century ago. It has tried competing with larger cities for companies and jobs. With just more than 500 residents and a declining school enrollment, the school board threatened to close the Marquette elementary, middle and junior high school.

But the mayor warned that losing the school could turn Marquette into a ghost town.

So Piper and several other town leaders started Marquette Development Corp., a nonprofit group offering free lots to families. The idea was enough to convince the school board, by a single vote, to keep the school open.

Piper says 20 lots were given away in 2004. The economic development group borrowed $100,000 to buy another 50 acres near the church, with room for 58 more homes.

“We’ve increased from 540 people to 640 people in a year’s time, which may not sound like a lot, but percentage-wise, that’s a pretty good number,” Piper says.

School enrollment is up by about 45 students—especially important since the state bases school funding on student enrollment.

Marquette’s small-town atmosphere has drawn families from Virginia to California. Many of them abandoned big cities hoping for a quieter, simpler and safer life.

A UMNS photo by John Gordon James Colley, who moved his family from California to Marquette, works on a light switch at a new home under construction.

“It’s a true sense of community here,” says Angela Behanna, who moved from northern Virginia with her husband and three children. “Everyone cares about their neighbor; they ask how you are. We’ve met a lot of good people.”

While the Behannas were in their Virginia apartment debating a move to Kansas, they heard gunshots outside and learned later that police had shot and killed a suspected bank robber and murderer. The family soon started packing.

“You still have to watch your children, but I don’t think you have to watch them as close,” says Roy Behanna, a machinist who quickly found work in a town near Marquette. “Compared to where we came from, this is very, very safe.”

Courtney Heitter, an employee at the Valley Café, compares Marquette to California, where she and her family used to live. “It’s a lot more slow paced than it was in California. People aren’t as uptight about everything,” she says. “It’s a better community.”

James Colley moved his family from Sherman Oaks in southern California and plans to start work soon on his new home. Marquette’s smaller class sizes for his school-age children played a big role in the decision to move, and so far the decision’s proved right. “They’ve got good grades, and they’re learning more than they would in California,” Colley says.

Brock challenges his congregation to welcome the newcomers. Church members deliver freshly baked cookies and other treats. “Marquette’s just trying to battle back and keep the school and keep the small-town quality of life,” the pastor says.

A UMNS photo by John Gordon These new homes, built on free land offered by the town of Marquette, await occupants.

The free lots are appraised at $8,000 to $10,000 each, while new homes are being built for around $100,000.

All lots in the first developments have been claimed, but applications are still being accepted. Twenty additional acres have been donated for houses, with 20 more acres set aside for business development.

“Some people might call it a gamble when you go out and buy $100,000 worth of land and give it away, but we don’t look at it that way,” he says. “We think that God has a purpose for us here in Marquette.”

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer in Marshall, Texas.

News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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